Fact: Most Magicians Use Dogs In Vanishing Pony Trick

I'm reading... make that listening to... Born Standing Up, the new book by Steve Martin. You can listen to free excerpts from the audio book at Simon and Schuster.

If you've never seen "The Absent-Minded Waiter," the short film that opened his live shows at college campuses around the country some 25-30 years ago, it's well worth a look.

Charley Rose has three interviews with Steve.

Martin used to read and re-read magic catalogs when he wasn't reading Uncle Scrooge or Little Lulu. It's easy to spend hours with the magic catalogs; every page is jammed with small type. These days, you can buy your tricks online, and see them performed first in online videos.

Here's a trick from Vick Lawston's 1963 catalog. It packs flat, it's light-weight, it's easy to carry, and it costs only 50 cents. Pony Not Included; User assembly required.